Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

It’s hard to write a review because I did enjoy this book. I just didn’t think it was earth shattering. It had a nice pace, nice writing and a good storyline, but nothing about it made it unputdownable. It was still a decent read. It was a good book to read on a rainy day.

Although I have mixed feelings about it, I would generally recommend HER PERFECT LIFE for fans of women's fiction. Reading the description, it's hard to know how to classify this book. It's not a thriller/suspense story. I would say it's women's fiction, by which I mean a somewhat breezy "beach read" that is mostly focused on delivering an entertaining story. For the most part, HER PERFECT LIFE is entertaining and I remained interested in the story. My one caveat is that it's not particularly fast paced and I felt the past (20 years ago) storyline bogged down the narrative. I understand why it was included -- and it was important -- but I would rather have learned the big reveal in smaller snippets and from Eileen's perspective. Eileen is a strong and sympathetic character and the author would have been better served to let her carry more of the novel instead of asking the reader to be patient for extends chunks of story from the past.

Clare Collins appears to have it all. A successful author, millions of fans, a beautiful home - so why would she take her own life on the night of her latest book release? Sister Eileen is shocked by the news, and flies off to California to help Simon, Clare's husband and agent, get through this tragedy. Eileen has her own problems with an unexpected shock in her life, and more surprises are coming. Secrets are revealed and lifes are irrevocably changed in this taut story. The past can come back to haunt you. Thank you to #netgalley and the author for this arc.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was less of a thriller and more of a woman’s fiction novel. The one twist was pretty obvious from the beginning, and there was not enough conflict, and and unfortunately gratuitous happy ending. Not horrible if that’s the book you’re looking for but certainly a disappointment as a psychological thriller or suspense

I was fortunate enough to have been able to download an early copy of "Her Perfect Life" from Net Galley.

Clare was born a Kaczanowski, but knowing that wouldn't sell books, even if she could sell books she authored, she changed her last name to Collins. Collins being the last name of her high school sweetheart. Clare was the first of four roommates to be published in a major newspaper to the shock of one of her roommates, Donna. Donna later went on to make a name for herself in the writing world. Through thirty-six books, Clare was a favorite of her reader base until her thirty-seventh book, which her readers did not particularly care for. Suffice it to say, she finally was brave enough to write her own truth. A truth that neither her husband nor her sister, Eileen, even knew about. Through this tale, Eileen was dealing with some truths of her own which are tightly woven into this story as well. Simon, Clare's husband, also was forced to deal with some truths that he knew existed but didn't really want to face. You'll have to read the book to see how all these tales come together as I don't want to give too much away.

I have to say that for a debut women's fiction novel/psychological thriller ... whatever genre you want to put this tale in ... Ms. Taylor has knocked it out of the park. She obviously has some raw talent for this kind of writing. This is the first book I have read of hers and, if she continues in this genre, she will, without a doubt, be able to hone her skills. After a good proof/edit, this book is one to be enjoyed if you like this genre.

Keep at it, Ms. Taylor. You will be a shining star, I think, in the psychological/thriller genre. Well done!

Five stars!!! I absolutely loved this story from the beginning to the end! Great story, great characters and a must read!

Her Perfect life is an edge of your seat novel. Very fast read. Eileen and Claire are sisters. They haven’t seen each other in a few years. Eileen is married with 3 kids. Clare is a famous fiction writer married to Simon her agent. Eileen’s life is falling apart when she receives a call from Simon saying Claire died.

Picked this up to read a few pages was drawn right in.Loved the storyline the characters.This was a terrific read a book that kept me involved as I read late into the night.Highky recommend.#netgalley#sourcebooks

It was just okay. I expected a lot more. The premise made me think there'll be more twist and turns along the story but it turned out to be very predictable and just a normal family drama.

It was also very difficult to sympathize with the sisters; I found Eileen selfish while Clare's character, being a writer - and an amazing one at that - has been made to be shallow-minded, having been obsessed with a guy and eventually taking her life because of it. It's quite unfair sometimes to portray women character as hollow as this.

The only thing I loved about the story is Eileen's decision in the end. It was totally in contrast with her sister's line of thought and I guess this saved the story for me a hell lot from clicking the 2star point rating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an ARC copy of this book.

Eileen is struggling with life taking care of her kids, dealing with her husband and having a job that doesn’t bring her joy. She feels that her sister Claire, a best selling author, has the perfect life. So Eileen is shocked when Claire kills herself. To add to her misery, she also finds out her husband is having an affair. What follows is Eileen’s journey to find out why Claire killed herself and to finally find herself and the happiness she deserves. A great read!

Clare Collins had a perfect life. She was successful, rich, famous, beautiful - she had it all. Or did she?

When Clare is found dead of an apparent suicide. Clare’s sister, Eileen and Clare’s husband, Simon, try to plan Clare’s funeral and determine why she chose to commit suicide. Can anyone ever honestly have “a perfect life” or is it a myth - smoke and mirrors. Her Perfect Life is a fluid read that gets my 5 star rating.

Eileen, a mother of three (and her husband, Eric, who shuns chores) is shocked to learn that her sister, Clare Collins, has died. Clare was an accomplished author, beautiful, rich and successful. Eileen's brother-in-law, Simon, calls to tell Eileen that Clare committed suicide. He wants her to fly to San Francisco and he will have a car waiting to take Eileen the 40 miles north to Clare and Simon's mansion.

Eileen receives a surprise of her own as she gets ready to board her flight to California.

As the story progresses we learn more about Clare and Eileen's earlier years and their triumphs and struggle they went through together.. The question of WHY Clare committed suicide remains as does the major problem Eileen faces back home in Denver.. Excellent writing and character depiction! Loved this book!!!

RECOMMEND!

Many Thanks to Source Books Landmark and NetGalley for a great read.

In Her Perfect Life by Rebecca Taylor, the main character Eileen's life is left in pieces after her world-renown author sister is found dead and she discovers an unfortunate truth concerning her husband.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a quick-read thriller, though the thrills weren't totally unpredictable. It was a little difficult to sympathize with Eileen as her jealousy struck me as odd and selfish (but I get it, sisters...). Taylor's writing was enjoyable and I definitely wanted to see how the story wrapped up. I was a bit confused by the relationship between Donna and Clare, I couldn't really distinguish between the timelines that well with this storyline so I was left a little confused about which book Donna wrote in high regard about. I thought that that could have been more clear, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was a well written and addictive story.
I liked the author’s writing style, how she used the different timelines and narratives of the characters to tell the story to the reader.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

I loved this book. From the very beginning, I was immediately hooked. Stayed up all night to finish it and am glad I did!

A great novel that I very much enjoyed. Strong.characters and a fascinating storyline make for an exciting read. Highly recommended.

While this book was fairly predictable I enjoyed it. The story is about Eileen whose famous author sister kills herself and on the same day Eileen discovers her husband is a cheat. While traveling to help her brother-in-law with funeral arrangements, Eileen learns a lot about her sister and mother along the way.

The main character Eileen was well written and you definitely felt for her. Her life was turned upside down in one heartbreaking day. To lose your sister and find out that your husband has been cheating on you would be traumatic.

I wish a few of the other characters would have had more of a part in the story, like the Dad of her daughters friend who she kept running into as well the story line of her parents.

Overall a quick read and enjoyable.

This was a delightful surprise. I enjoyed the book and found it very compelling. The story of Eileen who has her entire life upended in a day when she learns of her sister’s death and her husband’s affair.

The author created a very sympathetic central character in Eileen. She lived under the shadow of her “perfect” sister, a world famous author as she struggled to raise her 3 children. I think so many of us can identify with her, financial issues, crumbling marriage, parent with Alzheimer’s.; sadly common.

I know book groups will enjoy reading and discussing this book. This is Taylor’s first novel, I look forward to reading more. I did enjoy the way that the author pulled all the strings together, so I had a good sense of closure. This is a great beach read, just serious enough, but ultimately satisfying.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this.

3 Stars

I wish I'd loved this book, because I really wanted to. Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing an ARC for review.

3.5 stars rounded up. While this book was fairly predictable, I enjoyed it. I especially liked the connection between the sister's life as an author and snippets from her journals/short stories; I thought this could have been better utilized. I was surprised there wasn't even one chapter from the titular "book," - I think that would've been a nice addition.

Major issue I had: I feel like the relationship between Clare and Donna was not developed/wrapped enough. It was unclear to me at times what was happening. The book begins with a scene where Donna writes a bad review of Clare's book, but later it's revealed Clare sent Donna an ARC and she has a blurb on the cover. It's unclear why she would write a poor review then? We see a scene where Clare meets Simon and Donna is angry, but that "jealousy" is never resolved until Donna later tells Eileen and Simon she followed Clare's career. I don't feel we got enough information on this relationship, one that is seemingly so vital to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.